Looking for a wider audience

Abstract

Mass spectrometry is a go-to method for determining which molecules are in a sample. If security officers are faced with an unknown, possibly dangerous, substance, they don’t want to waste time sending samples to a lab and waiting for mass spec results, however. They’d rather be able to take a portable mass spec into the field to get answers quickly. Efforts to miniaturize mass spectrometers are by no means new. Researchers have been working to fit these powerful instruments into small packages for decades. They’ve succeeded in making small systems for particular applications, but they haven’t succeeded as much in reaching a broader audience. Miniature mass specs face the challenge of “false expectations” from users, says R. Graham Cooks, a chemistry professor at Purdue University and leader in the field. If people expect a miniature mass spectrometer to give them the same quality data as a high-end lab instrument, they’re